Recuperation
by love-stories.23
Summary: A story about how Scully and Mulder got together, after a horrifying event. This story will be on hiatus. I want to finish my other two stories first and have some trouble with how this story is going and where I want it to go. I will try to pick it up again in the future, but don't expect updates very soon... (October 4 2016)
1. Chapter 1

AN: this story has been in my mind for a long time and I've decided to get it out now. I don't own the characters in this story, but no copy write infringement is intended. The characters belong to Chris Carter, Fox, 1013 productions and to the fabulous actors who portray them, especially David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

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This was not how things were supposed to be. Here she was on her knees in a run down alley giving her partner of 5 years mouth to mouth resuscitation. She had long longed to feel his lips pressed against her, but then in a mutual enjoyed kiss. Not like this, not while blowing her own breath in his mouth to make sure that his lungs were getting oxygen.

'Come on, Mulder. Breath, breath. I know you can do it!'

She exclaimed while she was pressing on his chest to keep his heart beating. In the distance she could hear the sirens from the ambulance she had called when she had found Mulder lying in a crumpling heap in the alley. She shuddered to think what would have happened if she had obeyed orders this time and hadn't followed him here.

Mulder had been undercover for 4 weeks now. He had infiltrated in an anti-government militia with ties to the mafia. The had had hardly any contact since he had been undercover, but he had managed to sneak her a covert message last night. When she came home from a long day at Quantico performing autopsies there was a plain white envelope under her door. In it was a business card of a strip club in a seedier part of town with the word midnight written on the back. She knew it could only come from him and that it was his way of telling her he needed her. He couldn't call her or come visit her. She knew it was dangerous for him to contact her, even in this way. But she also knew that he wouldn't have done it, if he hadn't really needed her.

So after taking a quick shower, she dressed in casual clothes (all dark), holstered her gun and left for the strip club. It had been close to nine when she had come home from work, but she wasn't worried about the time. She would make it in plenty of time. She hadn't counted on the accident that had happened on her way to the strip club and when she finally made it to the parking lot, it was already half past midnight. Not sure what she should do, she got out of the car and decided to walk around. If Mulder expected her, surely he wouldn't want her to go in? He would make sure that she knew where he was and let her know what to do.

A little to the left of the entrance of the club she saw a dark alley. She didn't know why, but something told her that that was where she had to go. Slowly and carefully she made her way to the alley, all the while keeping a look around to make sure she wouldn't miss anything, should something happen. The alley was dark and probably had the back entrance to the club in it. When she peered into it, she couldn't see anything unusual at first, but when her eyes started to get used to the dark she saw a figure in the back. He was laying on the floor, not moving, but she could see the blood next to the body. It only took her a second to realize that it was Mulder lying there. That it was Mulder who was bleeding and not moving. She whipped out her phone to call 911 and ran over to Mulder.

He was laying on the hard asphalt with a bloodied 4 by 4 next to him. She immediately knelt next to him and her hand went over to his neck to feel for a pulse. She could feel a very faint pulse, but his chest wasn't moving. Very carefully she looked him over. His face was all bloody, he had a gash along his right eyebrow and a big lump on the back of his head. His left hand looked broken, but the worst was his back. She could see the wound low on his back where they must have hit him over and over with the piece of wood. His neck seemed to be alright and she very carefully managed to turn him over so that he was lying on his battered back. There were more wounds on his torso, but all she could think about right now was making sure that he started breathing again, so she started administrating CPR.

Suddenly she felt Mulder move beneath her, he coughed and started to breath on his own again.

'Thank God Mulder, please keep breathing. I'm here, the ambulance will be here any second now, can you hear them? Please be alright, please don't die on me!' She started to look him over once more and took his right hand in hers.

After what felt like an eternity she saw the EMT's run towards her. She gladly backed up and started to tell them what they needed to know. Within minutes Mulder was loaded on the ambulance and Scully got in next to him holding his right had tight in her own two hands. Her hands looked so little and pale compared to his was all she could think.

When they arrived at the hospital Mulder was whisked away to the ER to be looked over. Scully took care of the admission forms. After that she called A.D. Skinner to inform him off the situation. He promised to come to the hospital as soon as possible and sent some agents to the alley to start looking for evidence.

When she went back to the waiting room she clamped onto the first doctor she saw and asked for Mulder.

'He is being transferred to ICU as we speak. It is on the fourth floor, the doctors there can explain his situation to you. But I can tell you that he was very lucky that you found him when you did.'

Scully turned around and headed to the nearest elevator, sending a text message to Skinner to meet her on the fourth floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Skinner found Scully sitting next to Mulder's bed in the ICU. He had a bandage on his forehead and his left hand was in a cast. His torso was also covered in bandages. When she heard the familiar footsteps she turned around and stood up.

'I'll be right back, Mulder. I just have to talk to Skinner for a while.'

Scully and Skinner stood in the hallway outside Mulder's room discussing all they knew about the crime scene and the attack and his condition. He still hadn't regained consciousness and needed an oxygen mask to help him breath. His left hand was broken, his torso was covered in bruises, the wound above his eyebrow looked worse than it was, but worst of it was his back. His spinal cord was bruised and they didn't know what the consequences of that were just yet. It could be nothing, the swelling could go down in the next couple of days, but it could also mean that he could be paralyzed.

The first agents to report to the crime scene had determined that he had indeed been beaten with the 4 by 4 Scully had found. There was little to go on, but they were sure it had something to do with his undercover operation. Scully explained the business card as the reason she was in the alley, when she wasn't supposed to be in contact with Mulder. Skinner was glad that she had gone to the strip club and was there in time to save his life.

Skinner left with the promise that they would do anything the could to find out what happened and made Scully promise to contact him the minute Mulder's condition changed.

'Hi, I'm back. Skinner says he'll do anything he can to find out what has happened, but it would be a lot easier if you just woke up and tell us everything. You know, now is not the time to start acting like Rip van Winkle.'

Scully said jokingly, but the tone of her voice betrayed her. There was nothing to joke about. She looked over at the monitors to see if he showed any reaction, but there was no change in the beeps and lines on it.

After a while Scully fell asleep, still holding on to Mulder's uninjured hand. That was how the attending doctor found them in the morning.

'Mrs. Mulder, wake up, it is time to check on your husband.'

Scully blinked slowly, looking at the doctor.

'Ehm, he is not my husband. My name is doctor Dana Scully, Mulder is my partner at the FBI.'

'Excuse me for the misunderstanding.'

Scully let go of Mulder's hand and stood up to give the doctor some room to examine Mulder. He explained the extent of the injuries to Scully.

'What worries most is the spinal injury, but for now we cannot assess the impact of that. The head wound, the bruises on his torso and his hand will heal fine. I think he should regain consciousness in the next 24 hours or so, we gave him a lot of morphine to help with the pain and some tranquilizers so that he wouldn't suddenly move, but they should wear of in the next couple of hours. The pain will hopefully help him wake up. Is there anything we can do for you doctor Scully?'

'Do you have a place where I can freshen up a bit? I'd appreciate it.'

Skinner had sent over an agent with some clean clothes for her, and she wanted to clean up a bit.

'Yes sure, you can use the changing room, it is at the end of the hall. There is a shower and there should be soap and shampoo if you wish to use it.'

Scully washed up quickly, not wanting to leave Mulder alone for a long time. Afraid that he would wake up without her there. When she returned there wasn't any change in his condition, but when she grabbed his hand, she could have sworn that he squeezed it.

'Wake up Mulder, please wake up soon. I don't know what I'll do when you don't. We need your help finding the people who did this to you. And we need your help to see how badly you've been injured. But most of all, I just need _you_.'

A single tear made its way across her cheek. When she had finished talking she felt him squeeze her hand again.

'I'm here Mulder, I'm not going anywhere. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand again.'

She felt another squeeze and saw his eyes flutter. When he finally opened his eyes she smiled as more tears fell from her eyes.

'Welcome back Mulder. Just relax and don't try to move to much. You're in the hospital. Something must have gone wrong at the strip club yesterday. I found you in the alley, more dead than alive. I'm going to call your doctor now, he has to check you now okay?'

Mulder nodded and look in her eyes. He unclasped his hand from hers and wiped at her cheeks, wiping away the tears that were still falling from her eyes.

'I need you too.'

Mulder's voice was soft and raspy when he whispered these words, but to Scully it was as if he had shouted it from the rooftops. She bend over and placed a soft kiss on his forehead and another one on his nose before pressing the call button next to Mulder's bed.

When the doctor saw that Mulder was awake he asked Scully to leave the room for a minute to do an examination. Even thought she wanted to stay, she left the room to give them some privacy.

'Doctor Scully, you can come in now.'

The doctor explained that Mulder seemed to know who he was, what day it was and didn't have a concussion. But his wound to his back was worrisome. Mulder didn't have any feelings below his waist. He didn't respond to pain stimuli and couldn't move his legs.

'I can't give you a prognoses right now, we will have to do more test and time will tell. Maybe when the swelling has gone down, everything will be fine again. But at this moment I can't guarantee anything.'

Scully looked over at Mulder at these words. She couldn't make out his expression, but was sure he was still under the influence of some of the medication he had been administered. She thanked the doctor and took her place next to Mulder and took his hand in hers.

'I promised I would call Skinner the minute there was any change in your condition, so I'll have to go for a minute. But I'll be right back and than we can talk about this, okay? Everything is going to be okay, you'll see.'

When she returned from talking to Skinner, Mulder had fallen asleep again so she stepped out, after telling his sleeping form that she would be right back. She went to the cafeteria to get something to eat and some coffee. She desperately needed the caffeine right now. While she was sitting down to eat her breakfast she called her mother. She needed someone to talk to. Maggie Scully promised to be there as soon as possible.

Scully made her way back to Mulder's room and sat next to him, just looking at him. Thinking how unfair the world was. Hoping and praying that everything would turn out alright. Mulder could not be paralyzed. But even if he was, she would be there for him, she wouldn't give up on him. She would not leave him, not ever. She wasn't like all those other people in his life. Especially not like the other women from his past, she wasn't like his mother, or like Phoebe or Diana. She would stand by him until the very end. In what ever capacity he wanted her. As his partner, as his best friend, or maybe even as more... if he would let her.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: and here is chapter 3. please let me know what you think. You don't have to write a elaborate review, just quick 'good job' or 'please continue' will do. I write mainly for myself, but it is nice to know that you, my readers, are enjoying reading this and want me to continue.

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Chapter 3

After a week Mulder was allowed to move to a normal room. He still couldn't move his legs or feel anything below his waist. His hand and his other wounds were healing nicely. He had told Skinner everything there was about the beating. It turned out that he had suspected that he had been made and that was the reason he had contacted Scully. He wanted someone to watch him in case it all went south.

He had been made and the had beaten him in the alley and left him for dead. If Scully had arrived much later they would have succeeded.

Scully never left his side if she could help it. Visiting hours were restricted, so in the time in between she went to her apartment to shower and change and get some sleep, but she was back the minute she was allowed to. Maggie also visited once a day, making sure that her 'adopted' son was doing better.

Arrests had been made based on the information Mulder had supplied. Not only for assault on a federal agent, but also in the case he was undercover for. Skinner came over with updates regularly.

On the night off the third day Mulder was on the ward Scully and him had said all they had needed to say about the case and what she had done in his 4 week absence. She felt it was time to say some things that had needed to be said a long time ago. Things she had wanted to say for so long, but had been afraid to think about, let alone say out loud.

She had loved him for so long now, she didn't quite know when her feelings had changed. She remembered walking into that basement office 5 years ago. She had been sent to spy on him and heard a lot of stories about him. How he was 'spooky' and a 'loner' and 'weird'. But also that he was brilliant, and according to the gossip in the ladies room that he was 'handsome' and 'quite the looker' and that most the secretaries secretly hoped that he would pay them any attention. When she entered the office the first thing she thought was that he really was handsome. With his dark hair and hazel eyes behind sexy glasses. And when he stood he was really tall. She almost felt like a midget next to him. He seemed arrogant, but there was a kindness in his eyes.

During there first years together they had become friendly and even best friends. She trusted him completely and was sure that he trusted her as well. They had started to spend more time outside the office before his undercover operation. She had missed that during the time he was gone. Maybe even more than working with him. She needed him to know that she had meant what she had said when he had first woken up. She needed him in her life. In whatever capacity he wanted, but hopefully as more than friends.

'Mulder, we have to talk. I know you don't want to talk about what happened to you, but I have to tell you some things. When I realized it was you lying there on the ground, my heart stopped beating. And when you weren't breathing, I stopped breathing too for a second. I was so scared I was going to lose you. So scared that I never got to say how much I need you, how much you mean to me, how much I care for you. And that I can't image my life without you. I don't want to image my life without you in it. I love you Mulder...'

The last words were almost a whisper. Tears were streaming down her face, she couldn't keep them in. She had to let them out. Mulder looked at her and just as on the first day, he took his hand out of hers and swiped away the tears. But before he could say anything, she continued.

'I don't care about the way you are now. I don't care that you might be paralyzed. I just want to be with you, show you how much I love you. If you let me...'

'Scully, you don't know what you are saying. You're just scared, but in a few more days you'll come to your senses and you'll be sorry...'

Before he could finish his sentence Scully reacted.

'NO, no, I'll never be sorry for telling you I love you. Because I do, I do love you. I have loved you for so long now, I don't know when it started or when I stopped lying to myself, but don't tell me that I don't love you! And if you don't feel the same way, that's fine, just tell me, but don't presume to know what I feel or that this is just from being scared and tired or whatever excuse you can come up with.'

'I do love you, Scully, I have for 5 years, from the minute you walked into my, _our_ , office. But what if I'm paralyzed. What kind of life can I offer you. What kind of partner can I be. I can't be your lover this way. You would have to take care of me all the time, I would only be a burden on you.'

'I don't care about that, and you'll never, ever be a burden to me. And don't think that you can use this as an excuse to have me wait on you hand and foot, because I won't. We'll hire a nurse or something to take of you while you are recuperating. Because I refuse to believe that you won't recover. You have to get well, and you have to believe that as well. I don't care how long it will take, but you will be able to walk again. And I want to be there when you do. And about what kind of lover you will be, I'll take everything you can offer... knowing that you love me will be enough.'

They looked at each other for a few moments.

'Think about it, I have to go now, visiting hours are almost over. I'll be back tomorrow.'

And with that she stood up, leaned over a placed a kiss on his forehead and left his room.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: everybody who has reviewed, favorited and is following so far, thank you very much. It is very much appreciated!

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Chapter 4

That night Scully couldn't sleep. All she could think about was the conversation she'd had with Mulder in the hospital. She just had to believe that he would be okay again, she just had to. She thought about what he had said, that he couldn't be a lover to her. Well she didn't need him to be, she was telling the truth when she had said to him that she would take everything he would have to offer. She had waited so long to hear him say that he loved her.

Of course she had thought about the two of them together. What it would be like to make love to him, what kind of a lover he would be. She imaged him passionate and intense, just as in all other aspects of his life. But if they couldn't have that together, it didn't make any difference. She wouldn't miss that, how could she miss something that she hadn't had? She would be satisfied with any kind of intimacy they would be capable of together. Because it was him. She just had to make him understand that. She had to make him see that he was enough. That just being able to be with him, kiss him and hold him would be enough for her.

The next day she entered the hospital room with some trepidation. How would he react, would he have time to think about things? The first thing she saw when she entered the room was the second bed in the room. Up until now they had been lucky, Mulder had had the room to himself, but now a man was occupying the second bed in the room. Gone was the privacy and the opportunity to freely discuss what ever they wanted discuss, including their private life.

'Good morning, how are you today?'

She said as she walked over to Mulder's bed. She had decided on the way over, that she was going to show him how serious she was about the two of them. She'd just hadn't expected to have an audience for it. But instead of sitting down and taking his hand, as she had done every other time, she leaned over and kissed him softly on his lips. She could see his eyes open a little bit wider by her bold action. She made sure to keep looking into his eyes, let him see everything she was feeling. Letting him know that she was serious and wasn't backing down.

'Good morning. I'm doing fine. I've gotten a room mate last night after you left. He was in a car accident and broke his leg.'

He said pointing to the other bed in the room. The bed's occupant seemed to be sleeping for the moment. Scully got up and pulled the curtains around Mulder's bed so that they could have a little more privacy in case Mulder's new neighbor woke up. When she sat back again, she took his right hand.

'I was serious yesterday. I meant everything I said. I was hoping we could talk about it some more today, but that is a discussion we don't need an audience for. So for now, lets talk about your progress. How is that going? Your bruises should have started healing by now, haven't they? And the cut on your forehead should be healing nicely?'

'And my legs still don't work.'

He said bitterly looking down at his legs.

'Have they said anything about physical therapy yet? I know it is soon, but you have to keep exercising those muscles. You need to keep them strong and working. Because you will need them again soon.'

'No, not yet, but what's the point. I'll never use them again, so why put effort in it.'

He sounded exasperated and depressed. She wasn't sure how she could get through to him. She needed him to be optimistic and hopeful.

'I'll ask your doctor about it, when I see him today. I know you feel depressed right now, and I can't really blame you. I don't know how I would feel if this had happened to me. So for now I'll be positive for the both of us. But you have to promise me something. Promise me that you will do everything you can to get better again. Do what ever the doctors and the therapists tell you to do. That that includes the orders from your personal physician doctor Scully. It is only early days yet. The swelling hasn't gone down completely, so there is no way of knowing what the extent of the damage is. But if there is a small chance that you can regain the use of your lower body again, however small, I want you to work as hard as you can to regain it. Put all the focus and energy I know you have in getting better, and than I am sure everything will turn out alright. You just have to believe that. Just this once, can you believe me?'

'I want to believe.'

A small smile graced his lips when he said this and Scully put there hands to her face and kissed his hand.

They heard footsteps approaching and the doctor entered the room. After a cursory examination, Scully asked the doctor about the physical therapy. The doctor agreed that it was soon, but didn't see any harm in beginning. It wouldn't hurt his condition if the started with some easy exercises, just some moving of his legs, so that they wouldn't get stiff from lying all day. He promised to have the therapist come by that afternoon to start on a schedule.

After that the morning visiting hour was over and Scully had to leave for a couple of hours. She hated that time, it wasn't worth going back to her apartment and she didn't want to spent too much time in the hospital. Most of the time she went to the J. Edgar Hoover building. Seeing if she could get some paperwork done or something. Making sure there were no urgent X-files that had to be pursued. Skinner had told her to take all the time she needed, all the time Mulder needed her and she was grateful for that. It wasn't as if she hadn't put in enough unpaid overtime in the last couple of years. She felt the Bureau owed her this, and luckily Skinner seemed to agree.

When she returned that afternoon the physical therapists was sitting in her chair. She was a very pretty brunette with legs up to her elbows. Just the kind of woman that she knew was Mulder's type. Great, she thought. Just what I need right now... Part of her was secure in the fact that Mulder had said that he loved her, but this was still so new. And they hadn't even had time to talk about it, and now she felt she had to compete with the therapists.

'Hello, my name is Dana Scully, you must be the physical therapist.'

'Hi, my name is Sara Anderson and I'll be Mr. Mulder's therapist for the next couple of weeks. We were just going over the schedule I want him to follow. He'll have to come to the exercise room twice a week for starters, but there are some exercises he can do right here, with the help of someone of course.'

'I'm here everyday, I can help him with his exercises. Just tell me what to do.'

She looked over at Mulder and saw a gleam in his eyes she hadn't seen before. Was he picking up on her protectiveness? Before she could say anything he winked at her, and she knew that was exactly what he was thinking.

Sara started to explain to Scully the exercises they could do in the room. She started to explain all the different muscle groups, but Scully interrupted her, telling her she was a medical doctor and knew exactly where all the muscles were. That earned her another wink from Mulder.

After Sara left, Maggie entered the room. It was if it was timed that way, but it was just a coincidence. Maggie had not been by for a few days and was curious how 'Fox' was doing. Mulder and Scully told her about his progress and the fact that he would be starting physical therapy soon, but didn't say anything about the discussion they'd had the day before about their feelings. Maggie wasn't blind and has seen that Dana hadn't let go of Mulder's hand longer than absolutely necessary during his stay so far. But now there was something different, something in the air. She resolved to ask her daughter about it in private.

Mulder's neighbor had gotten his own company in the afternoon and it was getting crowded in the room, so Maggie decided to leave with the promise she would be back in a couple of days and that she would call Dana later that night.

'The guys said they wanted to come over tonight, so I guess I'll won't be coming over tonight.'

Dana had remembered that Byers had called her and asked if it was okay to visit Mulder. They hadn't seen him since he was hospitalized, but they wanted to come visit him tonight. If the three of them were there, there wouldn't be any room for her, besides it would be to crowded than too.

'I guess so, but you'll be back tomorrow right? You'll have to come back now, you have to give me my physical therapy.'

He looked like a lost little puppy when he said this. This wasn't the strong, independent Mulder she was used to. But he had a lot to deal with at the moment, so she would reinforce her seriousness once again. She had to make sure that he knew she wasn't going anywhere, that the couldn't keep her from seeing him.

'Of course I'll be back tomorrow, I'll be back every day, for as long as it takes. At some point I won't be able to take more time of work, so I won't be able to be here morning, afternoon and evening, but I'll be here everyday, I promise. I'll never leave you. I wouldn't know where I would go if I didn't have you to come back to.'

The other visitors in the room left and Scully noticed it was time for her to leave as well. She kissed him again, only letting her lips longer on his than the previous kisses she had given him. She didn't want to come across to aggressively, but she had to show him that she had meant every word she had said.

The weeks went by without any incident, Mulder went down to the therapy room twice a week and had some more x-rays taken of his back. Scully came by every opportunity she had and helped him with his exercises. They never had the room to themselves, and they both didn't feel comfortable with discussing private things with a neighbor in the next bed. The communicated with their eyes that they would discuss it as soon as it was possible. Before long it was time for Mulder to be transferred to a rehabilitation center to work on his recuperation. The hospital couldn't do anything for him anymore. His hand was healed, as were the cuts and bruises. The latest examinations of his back had shown that the swelling of his spinal cord had gone away, and there wasn't any reason why he shouldn't be able to regain full function of his lower half of his body in time. It just wasn't time for that yet.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: first of all, sorry for the delay. Real life (and a writer's block) got in the way of my writing. I haven't forgotten about this story (or about Summer of '81), but I'm not sure how often I will post. I will finish the stories, but in my own time. I've also learned that I might have posted to hastely, so I'm taking my time now, to make sure that I'm happy with the stuff I post.

AN2: Not mine, not making any money from it, hope you enjoy :)

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Chapter 5

Scully had asked for a temporary reassignment to teach a couple of hours a week at Quantico, and considering her service record was granted the relocation. She still checked anything that came into the X-files, but most of the cases weren't real X-files and could be handled by other agents. The few that were, weren't urgent, or she could work on them from the office and have the local agents and law enforcement agencies work on. She acted as an advisor in these cases and they all could be closed relatively easy. This meant she could still visit Mulder twice a day. Some days she went in the morning and evening and other days she went in the afternoon and evening. During the weekends she made sure she visited him three times a day. There were a few occasions when she wasn't able to go either in the weekend or in the evening, but she made sure that someone else, like the Lone Gunmen or her mother, would visit him on those times.

It was a Monday when Mulder was transferred to the rehabilitation center. It was close to the hospital and catered to long and short stay patients. They also had a great outpatient service for when Mulder was ready for that. Scully had made sure that she hadn't any classes scheduled that particular day, so that she could stay with him as long as he wanted to. Their relationship had changed a lot over the last couple of weeks. It had been hard for Mulder at first to accept her continuous presence, but she wasn't to be deterred. She kissed him hello and goodbye on every occasion. He even seemed to expect it by now. They still hadn't talked about the change in their relationship, but they both knew something had changed. Whenever Scully went away for a few minutes to get a cup of coffee or go to talk to the doctors he was waiting eagerly for her return and took her hand whenever she seemed to forget to take his.

The rehabilitation center was a lot nicer than the hospital, but that was to be expected. Unfortunately they didn't have private rooms, so Mulder had to share his room. When they arrived at the room they were pleased with the space and the homey feeling of it. Mulder seemed to perk up immediately. There were two bed on opposite sides of the spacious room, to try to give the occupants as much privacy as possible. The walls had a soft off white color and there were pictures on the walls. There was a separate bathroom to the room and there were even flowers and plants in the room. Each bed had its own television set, with headphones, so that they could enjoy it without interrupting each other. As in the hospital there were curtains that could be drawn around the bed to give some extra privacy.

Scully pushed the wheelchair with Mulder in it towards the other occupant and introduced themselves. His name was Mark and had been at the center for a couple of months now. He was learning to do things for himself after losing his leg in an unfortunate work accident and would probably be leaving in about a week to live on his own again, with outpatient care and a nurse who would visit him daily.

After the short introduction Scully pushed Mulder over to his side of the room. The staff had held back for a minute during this time, but now entered the room to help Mulder into his bed.

Once he was settled he was tired and needed to rest. Scully didn't want to leave him alone just yet, but she knew that he needed the rest. He needed the rest to get his strength back.

'You should get some sleep, Mulder. I'm going to go now, but I'll be back tomorrow. I think you have your first physical therapy session in the morning and I have to be at Quantico first thing, but I'll be here tomorrow afternoon. Maybe if you're up to it, and the weather stays like this, we can go out for a little while. Enjoy the sun.'

And in her head she added 'and the privacy'. She was going crazy from not having any personal, private time with Mulder. They really needed to talk. This was driving them both insane, she knew he was still worried about her actions in the last weeks. He was still afraid that he wasn't what she needed, that it was with pity that she kissed him every time she saw him instead of love.

She stood up and bent over the bed and kissed his lips and with a soft goodbye she left the room.


	6. Chapter 6: Therapy

AN: don't own these characters and am not making any profit from them... just enjoying writing about them :)

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The next day found Mulder in the exercise room of the rehabilitation center. He was finally getting some feeling back in his lower body. He could wiggle his toes, he hadn't told Scully about this yet, but couldn't wait to tell her.

His therapy included the massages Scully had given him in the hospital, but here they were given by a therapist. He missed knowing that it was Scully's hand on his legs, even if he couldn't feel them. The therapist was a nice guy in his thirties by the name of John. They had talked a little the night before after Scully had left.

John had read Mulder's files and was positive that with time, and a lot of hard work, he would be able to walk again. Maybe he wouldn't be back to what he was before, but John told Mulder that he would help him to regain as much of his abilities as possible. He made Mulder promise to apply himself to the therapy and give him 110%. Mulder felt instantly at ease with John, he was a laid back guy.

A new part of his therapy was swimming. John had explained that the warm water helped the muscles and it was easier to move his legs while Mulder was floating in the water. Unfortunately Mulder hadn't known about this part of therapy, so he didn't have any swimwear with him. He was actually looking forward to going in to the pool and relax in the warm water. In his mind Scully would join him for his therapy session and he could finally see her in a skimpy bikini. That thought brought a small smile to his face.

During his first therapy session John massaged his legs and they exercised his toes for a little while. Mulder even managed to stand for a few seconds at the exercise bars that where put up there. There was definitely some progress.

After therapy he tried to call Scully to ask her to go over to his place before she came over to bring his swimming trunks and some other things he might need, but all he got was her voicemail. She was probably teaching so he left her a message with a list of the things he wanted her to bring.

There weren't really visiting hours in the rehabilitation home, they tried to match up "roommates" based on their ability to cope with visitors and hours of rest needed. Mulder's roommate, Mark, had his long term girlfriend visiting when Mulder returned from the physical therapy. He felt exhausted after the therapy and asked the nurse to close the bed curtains so he could have some privacy and try to get some sleep. He wanted to be as awake as possible for when Scully visited him that afternoon.

After a nice nap and a healthy lunch Mulder took some time to get his roommate better. Mark was a nice guy and told him about his accident and what it was like in the home. He told him which nurses he should look out for and which were always nice and cheerful. Mark was looking forward to going home, his girlfriend was going to move in with him and help him adjust to living without his leg. They had talked about moving in together, but this just had moved their plans forward.

When it was almost three o'clock Mulder started to wonder when Scully was going to show up, but just then she appeared in the room. She walked over to him and purposely kissed him in greeting.

'Hello Mulder, I would have gotten here earlier, but someone left me a voicemail, demanding that I would go over to his apartment and bring him his swimming trunks and some other things. So I guess this means swimming will be included in your physical therapy?'

'Yeah, John said it would be great for the muscles. And I can't wait to get into that pool. At least that would feel somewhat normal, and I would be able to move myself around with my arms instead of being dependent on someone else moving me.'

This was followed by a chuckle. Scully decided that the she didn't want to say anything to that, instead she changed the subject.

'Do you have any more therapy today or are you free to enjoy the nice weather with me for a little while?'

He nodded and she went and fetched his wheelchair from the corner of the room. After ringing for help to get him into the chair they left the room and went into the large beautiful garden that belonged to the home.

Even though it was nearly half past three in the afternoon, it was still quite warm outside and Scully steered them to a secluded part of the garden, someplace they could have some privacy, without other residents walking by or looking at them from the recreation room or the rooms which had a view of the garden.

* * *

Next chapter they will have a talk in private, finally... and who knows, maybe Scully will join Mulder in one of his therapy sessions in the pool.


	7. Chapter 7: The Talk

Chapter 7 The Talk

When Scully had found a nice spot with a bench where she could sit on next to Mulder in his wheelchair, she knew she would have to be the one to start their talk but wasn't sure how she would start. But before she could start Mulder started talking.

'This is nice; it feels good to be out in the sun, outside, no confining hospital rooms or roommates. Just fresh air and good company.'

'I'm glad you like it and that you like the company. I do have to confess I might have had some ulterior motives in bringing you outside. Not only for enjoying the nice weather, but also to talk to you in private. I feel that this conversation is long overdue, but we need some privacy for it.'

She looked at him while she said this and saw the understanding and a little bit of uneasiness in his eyes.

'I know I'm going to start to sound like a record on repeat, but I've meant everything I said to you in the hospital. I love you; I've loved you for a very long time now. I'm sorry that this has had to happen for me to be able to finally say it and show you, but we can't change that. I want us to share our life together, I want to be there for you when you need me, and I want you to be there for me when I need you.'

Before she could continue Mulder interrupted her.

'How can I be there for you when I can't walk around, when I need help with everything, with changing my clothes, taking a shower, going to the toilet. I can't even do the most basic tasks without help. And it is embarrassing, having to have to call someone when you need someone to help you wash and clean you. It's embarrassing being so helpless. I don't want you to see me this way, but I'm sure that I can't stop you from coming over, so I'm not even foolish enough to ask you to stay away.'

'I can imagine how you must be feeling right now, but that doesn't change the way I feel about you. I can appreciate your feelings of embarrassment, but you should never feel embarrassed around me. There is nothing you could do that would warrant that.'

Before he could interrupt her again she put up her hand and continued.

'I haven't forgotten what you said in the hospital about not being able to be the lover you think I deserve or want. I told you then that that didn't matter to me. I didn't fall in love with your penis Mulder; I fell in love with your mind and your heart. Your body is a nice addition to that, I'm not saying that I don't appreciate your body or that I haven't thought about what it would be like to make love to you, because then I would be lying. And I'm more than happy to wait for you to recover to further our physical relationship, just as long as I can keep kissing you hello and goodbye every time we see each other. We've waited so long, so we can wait a little bit longer I think. And when, not if but when, we will be both ready for more it will be worth it.'

All Mulder could do was look at her and he saw the love in her eyes. He still couldn't believe that he deserved her, but for now he knew that he shouldn't tell her that. Instead he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.

'I can't believe you just said the word penis out in public,' Mulder joked after a few minutes of silence.

'Off course that is what you would dwell on, Mulder. Well it's true, everything I said is true. I know you still don't believe me, but I will make sure you will believe me.'

'So you didn't fall in love with my wonderful body, but with my heart and my mind?'

'Yes, you are brilliant and have a good heart. You always know when I need your comfort; whether I want it or not. I love the way you respect me, even when I disagree with you. You let me use my mind and don't mind if I don't agree with you.

You were there for me when my father died even though you hardly knew me back then. And when Missy died and all the other times I needed you, you were there, no questions asked. Even when I made it seem like I didn't want you there.

Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate your body. But I think that it was only about the sex and just physical attraction we would have ended up in bed long before now. But because it was not just that, at least not for me, I wasn't prepared to risk our friendship by sleeping with you. I don't believe in the friends with benefits concept. I think that somewhere along the line, or even from the beginning, one of the two parties involved will develop feelings for the other and that only ends up in heartbreak and that will damage the friendship beyond repair. I didn't want that to happen to us. Our friendship has meant everything to me; I didn't want to lose that. I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't in my life.'

Mulder decided that it was time to share some of his feelings on the subject. She had been brave enough to share hers, so it was only fair that he did the same.

'I love you too, Scully. And I think you're right. If we'd jumped into bed together before now; it would have changed our relationship and probably our friendship. I have to admit, that at first at least, it was just about lust for me. Since you dropped your robe in front of me in Bellefleur, I couldn't help but wonder what it was like to sleep with you. But somewhere along the line that changed. I would feel guilty about those feelings, I felt as if I was abusing your friendship and your trust. I started to realize that this was more than just lust, and more than friendship. I just didn't know how you felt and if you were even remotely interested in me that way.'

'I think we needed this time to realize what we feel for each other and that the time is right to acknowledge those feelings. And now we can work on strengthening our relationship, while at the same time we will work on strengthening your body. We have all the time in the world. We don't have to do go through the awkward first stages of a relationship. We already know each other and know that we love each other. '

With that she leaned over and gave him a slight peck on the lips, just to confirm their bond and signal the end of this talk, at least for now. They both knew that they still had to learn a lot about each other and that Mulder's injuries would take time to heal, both the physical as the psychological.

'So, do you want to tell me how your physical therapy went today?'

Mulder told Scully about his therapy session, the fact that he could move his toes a little and that he had managed to stand for a few seconds, before collapsing again.

'That's wonderful! That's great progress. I just know that together we will overcome this and finally something will go our way for a change. And tomorrow you can also include swimming in your therapy. It will help with strengthening your muscles, I'm sure.'

'Maybe you could join me sometime when I'm having therapy?' Mulder asked with a mischievous grin.

'Sure, I think we can arrange that,' was Scully's reply.

It was almost time for dinner, but before Scully wanted to give up their privacy she wanted to do one more thing. She'd been giving him almost chaste kisses since he had been hospitalized, but now she felt they both deserved something a little less chaste. Mulder still had her hand in his, but the position they were in was not suitable for proper kissing, so she stood up bent down towards him, standing in front of him.

Mulder had expected another chaste meeting of their lips, but when her lips lingered and she didn't seem to pull away, he moved his lips over hers. She had waited for him to move, since up until then it had always been her who made the contact and she needed to know that he wanted this as well.

When she felt him move his lips, she couldn't help but take his lower lip into her mouth and started sucking on it. That was something she had wanted to do for so long now. When she let go he repaid the favor by taking her lip between his. Finally their tongues met and fought for dominance. It was perfect, both of them fighting for control over the kiss and neither willing to give in. It was a metaphor for their relationship, both headstrong and not willing to give up without a fight. At some point Mulder sucked her tongue in his mouth and softly bit it. All Scully could do was moan and she decided that he could have the upper hand this time.

At the beginning of the kiss, Scully had put her hands on Mulders shoulders and he had put his on her waist, but their hands had started to move during the kiss. At the end his were on her back, pulling her closer and she had her fingers tightly entwined in his hair. After a few minutes of passionate kissing, it was time to come up for air. Scully withdrew slightly and looked into Mulder's eyes, and she could see the love there. She was sure he could see it in her eyes as well.

'Wow, I think that was worth waiting for; don't you?' she said with a smile.

All Mulder could do was nod and give her a quick kiss on her lips. It was high time he started showing her he meant it as well.

They made their way back to Mulder's room, he'd had the choice to eat in the common room or in his own room, and for today he had chosen to stay in his room. Mark, his roommate, had gone to the common room for dinner, so they had a little bit more time for themselves. It wasn't unusual for guests to stay for dinner, but they had to be registered a day ahead; and Scully hadn't been. So when the nurses came to bring Mulder his dinner, she felt it was time to go. She had to eat as well, and they'd had an intense afternoon. That on top off Mulder's therapy session, it was time to let him have some rest.

She left him with her usual kiss and the promise that she would be back the next day.


End file.
